Homewood's better way

The Homewood-Brushton Salvation Army and the Orchard Hill Church in Wexford will be out on the streets today in Homewood to infuse the neighborhood with a spiritual dose of uplift.

Philip Martin, a soldier in the neighborhood’s Salvation Army, said the 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. event, based at Homewood Avenue and Frankstown Boulevard, is an outreach “to let people know Jesus loves them, that there’s a better way than a cycle of poverty and addiction to failure.

“We have a college in Homewood [a Community College of Allegheny County branch] that no one in Homewood knows about or goes to,” Phillip said. “And two blocks up you see drug dealing in the streets.”

The outreach team will pass out 1,000 hamburgers, 500 hot dogs, candy and cookies.

The church and the Salvation Army established a relationship eight years ago through mutual friends in ministry and began a Saturday morning men’s bible study at the Salvation Army.

The church “helped to seed the career center at the Salvation Army,” said Mo Wimbish, director of small group development for the church. “We have a summer day camp with 120 kids who do a service project.”

Some of the youth will take groups of 10 on four-block prayer walks while others paint the Salvation Army gym and clean up the block of Kelly Street between Braddock and Collier.

Anyone can join them, to help bag trash, to offer prayer or just give social support for this cause of a better way.